WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren met with agriculture and land management leaders on November 26 for a detailed meeting on the Nation’s 2026 Pasture, Range, and Forage (PRF) insurance renewals and broader land stewardship challenges.
Among those present were Navajo Department of Agriculture Manager III Jesse Jim, Principal Planner Victoria Lee, and Native Land Insurance Services CEO Brittany Begay, who provided updated performance data and outlined proposed changes for Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
The team reported substantial progress this year, including corrected acreage data, improved mapping, and a comprehensive insurance strategy that reduced premium costs by $9 million.
Utah mapping updates added more than 250,000 acres, contributing to the Nation’s total 13 million insured acres. The meeting also addressed persistent concerns such as overgrazing, the growing horse population, and feral dog impacts. Leaders discussed the need for expanded education for ranchers, updated grazing regulations, and targeted strategies to address the feral horse population, including the use of AIF resources for aerial roundups and coordinated efforts to obtain accurate herd inventories. These measures aim to protect rangeland health and reduce long-term strain on the land.
Additional work continues to improve drought preparedness, finalize the remaining Year Three budget, support Saving Leaf Farms’ irrigation project, and to strengthen communication with grazing permittees across all agencies.
A major portion of the meeting focused on the 2026 PRF insurance renewal package.
Arizona’s policy will remain unchanged with 12,751,223 trust land acres covered. New Mexico’s group policy will be canceled due to BIA issuing grazing fee invoices directly to individual permittees and the requirements of Navajo Nation Resolution CO 57 16, which allow allottees and lessees to obtain their own PRF policies. Utah’s policy will expand to 328,736 acres of trust lands that cannot be insured under the Arizona policy due to federal contiguity rules. These changes follow an internal review conducted jointly by the Department of Agriculture, the Division of Natural Resources, and Native Land Insurance Services to ensure full compliance with USDA and Navajo Nation standards.
The team also highlighted continued success in wool collection, noting that producers can bring wool to designated collection points in each agency, where it is graded, weighed, and prepared for marketing. This ongoing effort helps improve wool quality, expand market opportunities, and support local producers.
At the conclusion of the meeting, President Nygren signed the 2026 PRF insurance renewal document, formally approving the updated policy structure and authorizing its submission to the USDA Risk Management Agency. The review reaffirmed that PRF insurance remains financially beneficial, generating more than 130 million dollars in net indemnity returns to the Navajo Nation since 2017.
President Nygren thanked the team for their thorough work and reaffirmed his commitment to responsible land management, strong support for Navajo ranchers, and building a more resilient agricultural future for the Navajo Nation.
